Philistines

How Nave’s arranged it

• Descendants of MizraimGenesis 10:141 Chronicles 1:12Jeremiah 47:4Amos 9:7
• Called CHERETHITES1 Samuel 30:14–16Ezekiel 25:16Zephaniah 2:5
• Called CASLUHIMGenesis 10:141 Chronicles 1:12
• Called CAPHTORIMJeremiah 47:4Amos 9:7
• Territory ofExodus 13:17Exodus 23:31Deuteronomy 2:23Joshua 13:3Joshua 15:47
• Lords ofJoshua 13:3Judges 3:3Judges 16:5Judges 16:301 Samuel 5:81 Samuel 5:111 Samuel 6:41 Samuel 6:121 Samuel 7:71 Samuel 29:21 Samuel 29:61 Samuel 29:7
• Kings of
• Abimelech IGenesis 20
• Abimelech IIGenesis 26
• Achish1 Samuel 21:10–151 Samuel 27:2–121 Samuel 28:11 Samuel 28:21 Samuel 29
• Allowed to remain in CanaanJudges 3:3Judges 3:4
• Shamgar kills six-hundred men with an ox goadJudges 3:31

The passages, in Bible order (61)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 10:14

   the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 10:141 voice

   “Pathrusim - The inhabitants of the Delta, in Egypt, according to the Chaldee paraphrase; but, according to Bochart, the people who inhabited the Thebaid, called Pathros in Scripture. Casluhim - The inhabitants of Colchis; for almost all authors allow that Colchis was peopled from Egypt. Philistim - The people called Philistines, the constant plagues and frequent oppressors of the Israelites, whose history may be seen at large in the books of Samuel, Kings, etc. Caphtorim - Inhabitants of Cyprus according to Calmet.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 10:14→

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2. Genesis 20:1

   Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

   ›Commentary on Genesis 20:12 voices

   “And Abraham sojourned in Gerar - We are not told upon what occasion he removed, whether terrified by the destruction of Sodom, or, as some of the Jewish writers say, because he was grieved at Lot's incest with his daughters, and the reproach which the Canaanites cast upon him for his kinsman's sake.

   “Abraham journeyed from thence . . . and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur--Leaving the encampment, he migrated to the southern border of Canaan. In the neighborhood of Gerar was a very rich and well-watered pasture land.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 20:1→

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3. Genesis 26:1

   Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Exodus 13:17

   When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

   ›Commentary on Exodus 13:171 voice

   “I admit, indeed, that God might have otherwise obviated all these evils; but since He is often wont to deal with His people on human principles, He chose to adopt the method which was most suited to their infirmity. Moses now commends this His admirable design, in order that we may know that nothing was omitted by Him which was for the safety and advantage of His people.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 13:17→

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5. Exodus 23:31

   And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 23:311 voice

   “In Exo 23:23, the limits of the Land of Canaan, strictly so called, are indicated; to this, when the Israelites were about to take possession of it, were added the regions of Gilead and Bashan on the left side of the Jordan Num 32:33-42; Jos 13:29-32. These two portions made up the holy land, of which the limits were recognized, with inconsiderable variations, until the final overthrow of the Jewish polity. But in this verse the utmost extent of Hebrew dominion, as it existed in the time of David and Solomon, is set forth.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 23:31→

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6. Deuteronomy 2:23

   And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:231 voice

   “And the Avim, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah,.... The same with the Avites, who appear to have inhabited some part of the land of the Philistines, in which Azzah or Gaza was, which was one of the five lordships of the Philistines, Jos 13:

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 2:23→

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7. Joshua 13:3

   All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;

   ›Commentary on Joshua 13:32 voices

   “Both included that portion of the country "from Sihor, which is before Egypt," a small brook near El-Arish, which on the east was the southern boundary of Canaan, to Ekron, the most northerly of the five chief lordships or principalities of the Philistines. 3, 4. also the Avites: From [on] the south--The two clauses are thus connected in the Septuagint and many other versions.

   “Counted to the Canaanites - That is, which though now possessed by the Philistines, who drove out the Canaanites the old inhabitants of it, Deut. ii, 23 Amos ix, 7, yet is a part of the land of Canaan, and therefore belongs to the Israelites.

   Everything gathered on Joshua 13:3→

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8. Joshua 15:47

   Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Judges 3:3

   the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

   ›Commentary on Judges 3:32 voices

   “Namely, five lords of the Philistines,.... The places they were lords of were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; see Jos 13:3; three of these, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, had been taken from them by Judah, since the death of Joshua, Jdg 1:18; but they soon recovered them again, perhaps by the help of the other two.

   “Lords - Seranim, a title used exclusively of the princes of the five Philistine cities. The title is probably of Phoenician origin. Joshua appears to have smitten and subdued the Hivites as far north as Baal-Gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon Jos 11:17; Jos 12:7, but no further Jos 13:5. There was an unsubdued Hivite population to the north of Baal-hermon (probably Baal-Gad under Hermon, since it is not synonymous with Hermon; see 1Ch 5:23), to the entering in of Hamath: i. e. in the fertile valley of Coele-Syria.

   Everything gathered on Judges 3:3→

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10. Judges 3:4

    These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses.

    ›Commentary on Judges 3:41 voice

    “And they were to prove Israel by them,.... They were left in the land, as to inure them to war, and try their courage, so to prove their faithfulness to God: to know whether they would hearken to the commandments, of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses; even all the commandments of the Lord delivered to them by Moses, moral, civil, and ceremonial, and particularly those that concerned the destruction of the Canaanites, their altars, and their idols, Deu 7:1.

    Everything gathered on Judges 3:4→

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11. Judges 3:31

    After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.

    ›Commentary on Judges 3:311 voice

    “From this verse and Jdg 5:6 we may gather that Shamgar was contemporary with Jael, and that he only procured a temporary and partial deliverance for Israel by his exploit. He may have been of the tribe of Judah. An ox goad - An instrument of wood about eight feet long, armed with an iron spike or point at one end, with which to spur the ox at plow, and with an iron scraper at the other end with which to detach the earth from the plowshare when it became encumbered with it.

    Everything gathered on Judges 3:31→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Judges 13:1

    Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

    ›Commentary on Judges 13:11 voice

    “The Philistines have been mentioned as oppressors of Israel in Jdg 3:31; Jdg 10:7, Jdg 10:11; and the Israelite worship of the gods of the Philistines is spoken of in Jdg 10:6. But this is the first time that we have any detailed history in connection with the Philistines. They continned to be the prominent enemies of Israel until the time of David. Forty years - The Philistine dominion began before the birth of Samson Jdg 13:5, and was in force during Samson’s twenty years’ judgeship Jdg 14:4; Jdg 15:20. The 40 years are, therefore, about coincident with Samson’s life.

    Everything gathered on Judges 13:1→

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13. Judges 14:1

    One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.

    ›Commentary on Judges 14:12 voices

    “And Samson went down to Timnath,.... A city which by lot fell to the tribe of Judah, but was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and now in the hands of the Philistines, Jos 15:57. Judah is said to go up to it, because the place where he lived lay below it, Gen 38:13, but Samson is said to go down to it, because he lived above it.

    “Went down to Timnath - A frontier town of the Philistines, at the beginning of the lands belonging to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:57; but afterwards given up to Dan, Jos 19:43. David took this place from the Philistines, but they again got possession of it in the reign of Ahaz, 2Ch 28:18.

    Everything gathered on Judges 14:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Judges 15:1

    Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

    ›Commentary on Judges 15:12 voices

    “Wheat harvest - Which was the proper season for what follows. With a kid - As a token of reconciliation. Into the chamber - Into her chamber, which the women had separate from the mens.

    “It was the dry season, dry far beyond our experience, and the grain in a most combustible state. Samson visited his wife with a kid--It is usual for a visitor in the East to carry some present; in this case, it might be not only as a token of civility, but of reconciliation. he said--that is, to himself.

    Everything gathered on Judges 15:1→

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15. Judges 16:1

    One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.

    ›Commentary on Judges 16:11 voice

    “Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot - The Chaldee, as in the former case, renders the clause thus: Samson saw there a woman, an inn-keeper. Perhaps the word זונה zonah is to be taken here in its double sense; one who keeps a house for the entertainment of travelers, and who also prostitutes her person. Gaza was situated near the Mediterranean Sea, and was one of the most southern cities of Palestine.

    Everything gathered on Judges 16:1→

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16. Judges 16:5

    The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

    ›Commentary on Judges 16:52 voices

    “And the lords of the Philistines - See Jdg 3:3 note. His great strength lieth - Rather, “wherein his strength is great.” Eleven hundred pieces of silver - The greatness of the bribe offered to Delilah, 5,500 shekels of silver, nearly two talents (Exo 38:24, note), shows the importance attached to Samson’s capture.

    “Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth--They probably imagined that he carried some amulet about his person, or was in the possession of some important secret by which he had acquired such herculean strength; and they bribed Delilah, doubtless by a large reward, to discover it for them.

    Everything gathered on Judges 16:5→

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